Tuesday, 19 August 2008

Chingam 1

Chingam 1- brian mendoncaFrigates anchor in Cochin's backwatersThe Southern Naval commandpatrols the Arabian.Panthirunazhi - an offering for the GodsSpires of St Sebastian reach for the sky.The Taj Mahal is rivalled in blinding whiteOn NH 47 students head for Nagercoil.Appams with egg curry, or Malabar fish curryswimming in Kariapala - Payasam for dessert.Of an asylum at Thrissur, the locals are vagueas earnest Malayali poets gather in Kerala House.Pazhampori, Unniyappam on a superfast busFrom Ernakulam to Trivandrum, you forego your lunch.Weddings galore on this day of the Kerala New Year.The credentials of The Hindu are hotly debated.SIMIngly nefarious designs are hatched at WagamonAntony gifts an airforce project for Kasargod.Mrs Vijayanadhan looks resplendentin her red-bordered settumundu.Mundus and umbrellas rule the day.May this Onam be blessed(You can also celebrate it in Saudi)Trivandrum-based trainsthunder on beyond the banana grove.

(Ernakulam-Thiruvananthapuram

Sunday, 17 August 2008)

Glossary

Chingam 1: The first day of the Kerala New Year according to the Malabar calendar, celebrated on 17 August 2008

panthirunazhi: an offering of payasam made with 12 measures of rice, milk and sugar made to Lord Poornathrayeesa of Thripunithura - also to ward off the inauspiciousness of the lunar eclipse on 16 August 2008

Taj Mahal: a mosque of similar appearance on NH 47

appams: fermented rice pancake, also made with toddy

Kariapala: aromatic Curry leaves - a must for South Indian cooking

payasam: sweet dish of Kerala

asylum: the great writer of Kerala, Vaikom Mohammad Basheer (1908-1994) is believed to have spent some time in the Ayurvedic Mental Sanatorium, Chiyyaram, Thrissur (Indian Literature, New Delhi, vol. 245,May-June 2008)

Pazhampori: ripe Kerala banana, fried in batter made of flour (maida)

Unniyappam: Kerala sweet made from rice, flour and shredded coconut. This sweet and pazahampori were served with much fanfare on the 2644 Nizamuddin-Tiruvananthapuram Swarna Jayanti Express train bound for Thiruvananthapuram